Word: emirs
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...ground troops each will probably be deputized as trip- wire forces to be stationed throughout the region. One will be composed of gulf and Saudi forces; the other will be primarily Egyptian. "Egypt has the experience, and it is willing," says a Kuwaiti aide to the exiled Emir. "In return, we will significantly help Cairo with its financial problems, and we will do the same for Syria...
Opposition to the Iraqis was extremely well organized in part because it was built around clandestine groups that existed before the occupation. In addition to Shi'ite Muslims opposed to the Emir, these include members of Arafat's Fatah guerrilla organization and Hamas, a more extreme Palestinian group that has been a key participant in the intifadeh in the Israeli-occupied areas. In addition, Ahmed Jibril's pro-Syrian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command has detonated car bombs at Iraqi targets in Kuwait City...
Some of the Shi'ite resistance members are believed to have been part of a secret organization set up by Iran during the Iran-Iraq war. They were there not to support the ruling family of the Emir, Sheik Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, but to topple it. When the Emir fled the country, however, the same Shi'ites, including women in chadors, came out to demonstrate, brandishing photographs of the Emir. "You shouldn't be surprised at this," said a Western diplomat who lived in Kuwait. "In the Middle East, groups can change sides very quickly...
...strength of the underground groups in Kuwait could also complicate the restoration to power of the ruling family. Some resistance leaders are nearly as opposed to the Emir as they are to the Iraqis; if they manage to seize control of the capital before the allies arrive, they might demand democratic concessions from the ruling family. "The politics of liberation are very complex," said a Western diplomat. "It could take place on the terms of the Kuwaiti resistance." The ruling Sabah family has promised to respect the constitution of 1962 by holding parliamentary elections sometime after liberation. But the exiled...
...sudden political shifts that are commonplace in the Arab world, it is possible that most of the Arab governments standing against Saddam may make amends to him after the war. Two exceptions: Syria's President Hafez Assad, who has a long-running personal rivalry with Saddam, and the Emir of Kuwait. At the same time, Jordan's King Hussein and President Bush are expected to patch things up. Bush still prefers the King to the more radical regime that would most likely replace him, while Hussein is eager for renewed financial assistance from the West and the Saudis...